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“I’m here to see Mary,” I said politely.
“Oh, are you now?” She withdrew the pipe fully and raised her eyebrows. Smoke drifted from her lips into the night sky. “Fine. She’s in the great cabin.”
I nodded my thanks and found my own way through the quarterdeck doors, then down the short passage to Demery’s cabin.
Mary opened it at my knock. The captain and her mother sat at a table behind her, drinking companionably as the remains of their dinner cooled on platters.
“Samuel.” Mary smiled in greeting, but as she took me in a furrow creased her brow. “Join us?”
I glanced past her to Demery and Anne. “Captain, Ms. Firth, pardon me.” Looking back to Mary I said, “May I speak to you privately?”
She glanced back at the other two, her expression thoughtful, but nodded and stepped out into the hall. The passageway was notwide—fewspaces aboard shipwere—andI found myself aware of how little space was between us.
I decided brevity and honesty were my best tactics.
“Hartis mine,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Captain Fisher will sail back to Aeadine and officially take on Slader’s Letter of Marque.”
“Will you need to petition for your own letter?” Mary asked.
I started to nod, then shook my head. “Yes,but…Ialready have one, you see.”
Mary looked at me curiously.
“The Usti queen has given me a commission and intends to dispatch me to the free channels.” I drew a deep breath before I continued, “It seems strange, I know, to work for the Usti, but the queen has her reasons, I am told. And this gave me the opportunity to make an unusual request.”
Mary leaned against the bulkhead, increasing the space between us a fraction and lacing her arms under her breasts. “Oh?”
“I will need a Stormsinger.”
The woman’s face darkened, so much so that I felt a stab of dread.
I hastily pulled the letter from my pocket. “I would never ask this of you, Mary, not without guarantees.”
Mary took the parchment from me and unfolded it. She moved closer to the light leaking from the galley, and I hovered as she read.
“This is a contract,” Mary said, lifting her eyes to mine. “Verified by Queen Inara.”
“A contract for a Stormsinger aboard my ship,Hart.” I nodded, quickly pointing to the stipulations in question. “Stormsingers used to have a guild to protect them, and I have based it off their papers. You may sign on for as short or as long a term as you choose, and there is this clause that allows you to leave if circumstances do not suityou—Ileft that language very broad.”
Mary was silent for a long, long moment. I heard footsteps pass across the deck above and the clink of glasses from Demery’s cabin, but the hammering of my heart almost drowned them both.
“And the Usti will enforce this?” Mary clarified. “What about other Stormsingers?”
“This is an exemption for you alone,” I admitted.“However…Itis a place to start. The beginning of change. We can be an example to the world, you and I.”
Another stretch of silence. My nerves were in tatters by now, but I kept my back straight. I saw more questions behind her eyes and braced myself.
But when Mary spoke again, her inquiry was simple. “Why?”
I had an answer for this, I reminded myself. “Because I admire you, I can think of none better to guide my ship. And I cannot bear the thought of not seeing you again, Mary.”
She eyed me in a way that made my mouthdry—amused,guarded, softening, with a blush creeping across her cheeks.
“Say something,” I pleaded. “If Benedict and the rumors make you reluctant to associate with me, I understand, but please give me the opportunityto—”
“They’re rumors.” She looked down at the contract again. “I know the truth. That’s not why I’m hesitating. This contract will do nothing to protect me from those who don’t care for the Usti crown.”
“I’ll do that,” I said before I could stop myself.
